Capitalism and Socialism.

[Dragonberry]

Why can't we mix the two. Face it. The US is in basically a depression. Everyone is getting laid...but not in a good way. So why doesn't America fuse capitalist and socialist ideals? We can make some types of things government controlled, such as the things that are taxed mostly, such as gasoline. Going to a gas station today, I was thinking, and noticed, that they can't possibly be paying near 3 dollars a gallon for their gas. For example's sake, let's say they pay 1.75 dollars per gallon of gas, and add on a 25 cent tax for state and federal taxes. So they're paying 2 dollars for a gallon of gasoline, and charge 3 dollars, turning a 50% profit. If such gas station was federally run, they can charge the base 2$, turn their little government profit they were making before, and help keep some money in the American's pockets. About 146 billion gallons of gasoline are purchased by consumers every year. Average price is approximately 2.67 dollars (as of June 15). So Americans spend about 389.82 billion dollars a year on gasoline. If it were federal controlled under my theoretical conditions, Americans would spend only 292 billion dollars a year, saving American people 106.82 billion dollars a year, which could go to mortgage payments, car payments, utilities, etc.

*Please keep in mind that the prices of gasoline are theoretical and I could be completely wrong.

[Leidolfr]

all those words, and nothing said, lol.

youre talking about shifting prices, instead of blah blah we move a dollar to blah blah....you're still losing that dollar either way, and after all that dribble, i totally lost interest in that wall of words

[save it for your teachers, who think everyone is a bright mind]

[Dragonberry]

At 6/22/09 01:46 AM, Leidolfr wrote: all those words, and nothing said, lol.

I think I said something about switching between capitalism and socialism in certain aspects.

[VJoe10]

LOLWUT?
No seriously, what?

[tornarrow]

At 6/22/09 02:00 AM, VJoe10 wrote: LOLWUT?
No seriously, what?

Agreed ^
newgrounds politics is designed for most epic failure

[Prinzy2]

The idea behind America's capitalism is to make everything cheaper than government run programs. Canada has what's called a mixed economy. Some things like infrastructure and health care are provided by the government, in turn they make us pay an increased tax on vehicles, gasoline, and our income tax.

It all sounds good, but the government has to make cuts somewhere. A private medical center might be able to afford better equipment by charging a little more, while the government would give them second rate equipment, the patient in turn gets an equally second rate form of health care service, but at least there is no big medical expense up front.

[Leidolfr]

At 6/22/09 02:13 AM, Prinzy2 wrote: The idea behind America's capitalism is to make everything cheaper than government run programs. Canada has what's called a mixed economy. Some things like infrastructure and health care are provided by the government, in turn they make us pay an increased tax on vehicles, gasoline, and our income tax.

It all sounds good, but the government has to make cuts somewhere. A private medical center might be able to afford better equipment by charging a little more, while the government would give them second rate equipment, the patient in turn gets an equally second rate form of health care service, but at least there is no big medical expense up front.

like I said, that dollars going somewhere, lol, oh, and to the OP who quoted and replied to me, no, you really didn't say anything, and you used a shitload of words to do it

[Anth0n]

The US is in a big recession because the Federal Reserve controls the money supply, and as a result the market is manipulated. That's not capitalism. If anything, we need real capitalism. Socialism doesn't work because the government can't allocate resources nearly as efficiently as the market can.

[Sir-S-Of-TURBO]

The mixed economy works wonders here in Denmark - Government cutting costs isn't an issue for long since the media and people watch over it. There are blunders and problems (Moreso with liberalconservative governments but no surprise there) here and there but for the most part the system works.

A note on motivation:
Governments supply these things because the people want them to
Private companies supply them because they can get money for it.

Logic dictates that private companies have more interest in cutting corners or undertreating/rejecting patients since they are the only ones who get something out of doing so.

Also this should probably go in the politics forum so to avoid getting banned for posting in this thread I will now make a cockjoke:

Roosters are also known as cocks. Cock is a synonym for penis. Hahaha.

[Leidolfr]

At 6/22/09 02:54 AM, Sir-S-Of-TURBO wrote: Roosters are also known as cocks. Cock is a synonym for penis. Hahaha.

thats what she said

[ThePretenders]

You do have a fusion of capitalism and socialism and it's called a mixed economy. In the US, the state and private firms possess the means of production and allocate resources. The US government owns corporations like USPS and AMTRAK. It also owns or subsidises libraries, schools, hospitals (although limitied) and banks now. You also have a welfare state and various regulations that protect consumers and workers (althought not to the extent of Europe).

Why nationalise the gasoline sector? Sure, you will get cheaper prices but you may harm performace and efficiency by diverting tax money to state owned enterprises unless the firm is self financing.

The US government is in deep fiscal difficulty at the moment as a result of the bailout and will have to implement austerity programs (tax rises and spending cuts) once the country gets out of the depression, so nationalisation is out of the question.

[CraigCastello]

China has always utilised a blend of Socialism and Capitalism, works for them.

[Podburrys]

So you're proposing the US adopt a style of government like Canada, Australia and New Zealand? Fair enough.

At 6/22/09 06:06 AM, CraigCastello wrote: China has always utilised a blend of Socialism and Capitalism, works for them.

Oh...wow. No mate, that's Communism. Socialism would be the ironic thing for China to do.

[Freetos]

I hope you realise that socialism would just deepen the depression. Since the Government is pouring all the tax payers money into every little organization, once independent "businesses", and those on welfare. People will have to start paying out of their pockets, most likely the rich considering Obama's new tax laws. When the rich don't have any money, the middle and lower classes don't have jobs, thus the latter two don't have any money. At the present moment our government has already done this fusion of Capitalism and Socialism. We should be looking at a "Depression" or a "recession" for another 8-10 years before our economy stabilizes again.

[REDSPADES]

Yep, you need to research capitalism and socialism. Most of that stuff is dodgy socialism and its not a perfect economic governing system, neither is capitalism.

you failed.

[cheesy999]

i've just used a currency and mesurment coverter and dont see what americans complain about becouse in britan we pay approximatly $7.43 a gallon. on the other hand most of the cars in the uk average about 40miles to the galoon

[Aughiris]

If we were all communists, there would never be any kind of economical problem.

/thread

[redpotato]

If obamas ideas get us out of this financial problem, can we then say socialism works?

[Ptcfast]

It's called China

[PinballWizard976]

At 6/22/09 12:09 PM, Aughiris wrote: If we were all communists, there would never be any kind of economical problem.

/thread

Haha. Very funny. The thing with communism is that it works in theory, but could never EVER work in real life. Take this example:

You offer a service. Say, I dunno, selling milk. The government needs 10 gallons of milk per week from you (hypothetically). So, you turn in your 10 gallons, and I only turn in 5. But in the end, we both get what we need (food on the table, milk, jobs, etc.) So why would you bother trying really hard to make 10+ gallons when the government is just going to give you what you want in the end.

OR, say you offer a service that doesn't have a quota. Like, cutting people's hair or healthcare. At the end of the week, you're still going to get what you need. The government will keep your business alive, your family will have food on the table, etc. So why the hell would you try really hard to offer the best service if the government is going to take care of everything. There's no competition. There's no reason to try hard. Communism makes no sense. Too much government control makes some of the worst economies.

[Dragonberry]

At 6/22/09 06:06 AM, CraigCastello wrote: China has always utilised a blend of Socialism and Capitalism, works for them.

'xactly

[InsertFunnyUserName]

At 6/22/09 12:19 PM, PinballWizard976 wrote: Haha. Very funny. The thing with communism is that it works in theory, but could never EVER work in real life. Take this example:

Additionally, a communist government is too susceptible to corruption. There's too much of a possibility that the communism will turn into an aristocracy. That's what happens when you give governments too much power.

But in essence, communism doesn't work. It's been tried (see: USSR, et al) and it has failed every time. If communism was the perfect government, then countries like the USSR would be the world's superpowers, instead of a republic like the US.